he effectively, i felt rather effectively and passionately defended most administration policies, and he also effectively criticized without malice some of the romney proposals and contradictions. >> i think aside from a few stylistic issues, programs interrupt ago few too much and smirks it was a very good night for the vice president. paul ryan clearly showed tonight that substantively he can play in the major leagues he didn't make any mistakes and held his own. >> and the president in denver last weekend, and i think joe biden really did in a very compelling way particular will i talking about the middle class, probably has a lot of democrats who were in the abyss of despair, were a lot happier this evening. >> rose: rich lowry. >> biden was the aggressor, especially in the first hour of the debate did a good job in making paul ryan have to do more explaining and in the first hour he did a better job hitting at romney than ryan did hitting at obama. i think ryan, though, was, came across as ernest, knowledgeable and polite, whereas especially in that first hour, joe biden was clea